Islamabad has expressed its desire for peace but warned New Delhi of an effective response, should India launch an attack on Pakistan.

“Pakistan doesn’t want war and we are desirous of peace, but if war is thrust on us, then we have all the rights to defend,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Sunday.

Qureshi’s warning came as relations between the two neighbors continue to deteriorate with India repeatedly blaming a banned Pakistani group of orchestrating the deadly November attacks on Mumbai.

The minister further said that Pakistani Armed Forces were completely capable and prepared to defend the country should the row between the two nuclear-armed states escalate into a war.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain. According to some media reports, following the Mumbai attacks India went so far as to deploy its warplane to the border with Pakistan.

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A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Talking to reporters at Multan Airport, Qureshi reiterated Islamabad’s call for concrete evidence implicating Pakistani militants in the attacks that left more than 170 dead.

“We are prepared to fully cooperate with India, but India should provide concrete evidences,” stated the minister.

Qureshi also rejected reports that he was under pressure to resign, describing the reports as ‘rumor’.